Hey All.  Apologies for the tardiness of this, the first, FTR from movie land.  I’ve been eager to get this rolling since arriving on set on day one, but the truth is, I’ve struggled with what to write.  You see, I should not mention anything about costumes, daily events while filming, or music, or whatever, as I may give away something about the film that is meant to be kept secret.  Likewise, I would not want to create an impression or expectation of one or another aspect of the final product that may or may not ultimately make the cut.  To be honest, the first two weeks have been a bit all consuming, and I’ve not been certain how to fairly document the comings and goings.

I can tell you that I rushed from the plane from Canada to the set on day one, and was whisked in to ‘the works’ (film speak for costume, hair and make-up), and was promptly whipped off to set where cameras and a fallen tree in the woods were awaiting the Merry Men’s first take.  I was made aware of some dialogue changes that now included me speaking in this scene, while peaking over the fallen tree.  I swear to Jaysus, I near shite myself.  I won’t tell you the line, as it is important to the plot, but suffice it to say that on Take One, my voice cracked like that adolescent dude on the Simpsons who asks “Would you like Fries with that, Sir”.  No one seemed to notice but me.

We did a two or three more takes of that shot and moved on to making a Major Hollywood Motion Picture.   Everyone one has been very kind to me it is apparent that making a film of this size is a massive team effort.  Everyone wants to help as much as possible to make the film a success.    I am especially indebted to Russell (Robin Hood) Kevin Durand (Little John) and Scott Grimes (Will Scarlett) for imparting onto me their extensive knowledge and experience in this field.  They have all been good to the Rookie.  Thanks Merry Men.

I have a stand in and a stunt double.  There is a good case to be made for everyone having these support staff in all walks of life.   Imagine if you had a stand in for sketchy dates.  A stunt double to shovel the snow off the second story roof.  Brilliant.

Some of the surreal moments have happened in situations that I did not foresee.  On day two or three, I was standing near a coffee station and a few feet away two gents were chatting about having found a great garage near their home town that offered a spectacular deal on oil changes.  Not so bizarre, you say?  Well, consider the fact that they were both in medieval garb, and splattered in blood as we had been filming a fight scene in which these dudes obviously faired poorly.  One of them had an arrow sticking out of his neck and the other appeared to be missing an ear.   The make-up is so convincing, that I don’t expect to ever get desensitized to it.   There they were, mangled.  The walking dead.  Casually sipping tea from paper cups and delighting in affordable auto repair. 

I have been put up in a house in a suburb of London.  I lucked out and scored a large enough pad to accommodate the Fair One and the Prince when they come for extended stays over the next few months.  I have spent eight or ten nights there already.  Alone.  I am living as a bachelor for the first time in my life.  I have never lived alone.  I usually spend my working days and nights on a 45-foot long, 8-foot wide bus with 11 other dudes.  I lived my entire University career with at least three other people.  I grew up in a small three bedroom with six people a dog and a cat or two.  I never had my own room till I was 20.  And now, weeks from my 40th birthday, I am sleeping single in a double bed above two floors of empty house.  Can’t wait till the family comes, but I have not found it as lonely as I expected.  I suppose that is due to the fact that the shooting days regularly run 14 hours and start at 5am.  By the time I get back to the house and have a Skype session, I am knackered beyond repair.  No time or energy to get lonesome.  Quick to the bunk to get ready for the next day.

As noted above, I am on my way from home.  I flew back to St John’s on Friday past as the film shut down for the long Easter Weekend.  I was not slated to shoot on Tuesday or Wednesday, so I am overnighting back to the Mother Country to resume training and shooting tomorrow.  

A few days at home was a glorious holiday.  My wee fella is getting less and less wee. 

I am bound for Heathrow Airport via Halifax.  Hoping to catch some of the hockey play-offs before the redeye carries me across the pond.  Go Habs.

Stay tuned.  More to come from Sherwood Forest.

Cheers,
Alan aka Allan